Category Archive for ‘News’

As the eurozone embarks on further integration, the voices of non-euro members must continue to be heard, Labour MEPs have warned. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker unveiled the Commission’s proposals for completing Europe’s economic and monetary union to MEPs today. He stressed the euro was a “political project” requiring “political… read more →

The European Commission’s proposals for a new border and coastguard agency are welcome and ambitious, but key questions remain, a senior MEP has warned. The Commission will present plans for a new external border force to the European Parliament today. The plan is to replace the current Frontex border agency… read more →

Labour MEPs will vote tomorrow for the development of a new European electricity grid, including a North Sea energy grid. The development of a new grid between EU countries will reduce electricity prices, increase energy security and promote the distribution of renewable energy. It will also create thousands of permanent,… read more →

The European Parliament will vote next week on a report co-authored by a Labour MEP that proposes a strengthening of recent efforts to clampdown on aggressive tax avoidance and tax evasion. The new comprehensive legislative report will make concrete recommendations that must be adopted into legislative proposals by the European… read more →

The European Commission has announced a new era of partnership with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) nations at the Paris climate change talks, outlining a shared commitment for an ambitious and binding global climate deal. The partnership is part of a greater ‘coalition of ambition’, which now includes the US,… read more →

Labour MEPs today reaffirmed their backing for stronger European Union anti-terror measures, including passenger name records (PNR) and the Prüm convention on the cross-border exchange of information. The European Parliament civil liberties, justice and home affairs committee today voted to strengthen PNR measures, while in Westminster, MPs this week unanimously… read more →

I was pleased to welcome a group of Jewish and Muslim activists in the European Parliament yesterday, and host them to mark the end of the global campaign #WeRefuseToBeEnemies, writes Afzal Khan MEP. We came together to challenge rising Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in Europe. We do this because action is… read more →

North-West Labour MEPs Theresa Griffin, Afzal Khan and Julie Ward today called on the government to apply immediately for European Union Solidarity Funding to help communities hit by flooding. Julie Ward MEP said: “I have been receiving regular detailed updates from my office in Cumbria about how communities are pulling… read more →

Climate change will create more refugees than any of the conflicts in the past half-century – the Paris talks cannot fail, writes Seb Dance MEP. This week, world leaders are meeting in Paris for the two-week long COP21 UN climate change conference to thrash out an agreement on a long-term… read more →

Labour MEPs have welcomed today’s agreement between the European Parliament and Commission that all MEPs will have access to all categories of confidential documents relating to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the proposed EU-US trade deal. Jude Kirton-Darling MEP, Labour’s European Parliament spokesperson on TTIP, said: “The public… read more →